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Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies

ESDiT is a 10-year long international research programme of 7 academic institutions. We work on breakthrough research at the intersections of ethics, philosophy, technology, engineering and social sciences.

What We DoWho We Are

Our 3 Focal Points

New digital technologies

robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), big data, blockchain, social media, and quantum computing

Bio- and brain technologies

gene editing, gene drives, synthetic biology, neurotechnology, advanced medical and food technologies, and technologies for human enhancement

Environmental & sustainable technologies

energy technologies, water technologies, recycling and other technologies for the circular economy, climate engineering, and bio-based and low-carbon technologies

Collaboration &
Knowledge exchange

The ESDiT programme is open to collaboration with other academic researchers, technology developers, policy makers & civil society organizations. We share relevant information and research results with media, education  & general public stakeholders.

ESDiT Research Lines

Nature, Life & Human Intervention

Nature, Life & Human Intervention

We aim to go beyond traditional discussions about the normative status of nature, e.g., whether there is something intrinsically good or desirable in nature and something objectionable in changing nature.
The Human Condition

The Human Condition

We investigate how and to what extent socially disruptive technologies have implications with regard to humans, humanity and the human condition, focusing on new biomedical and digital technologies.
The Future of a Fair & Free Society

The Future of a Fair & Free Society

We try to map how the changes in social relations, social structures, social institutions, and democratic practices, brought about by SDTs affect the basic concepts of social and political philosophy.
Foundations & Synthesis

Foundations & Synthesis

This research line aims to develop more synthesizing perspectives on the entire topic of the research programme. We work on frameworks that are able to provide normative responses to the challenge of SDTs.

Our Latest Publications

The latest publications by ESDiT researchers:

The wisdom_of_crowds: An Efficient, Philosophically-Validated, Social Epistemological Network Profiling Toolkit

Klein, Colin; Cheong, Marc; Ferreira, Marinus; Sullivan, Emily; Alfano, Mark

The wisdom_of_crowds: An Efficient, Philosophically-Validated, Social Epistemological Network Profiling Toolkit Conference

International Conference on Complex Networks and Their Applications, Springer, 2023.

Links | BibTeX

An Epistemic Case for Confucian Democracy

Ziliotti, Elena

An Epistemic Case for Confucian Democracy Journal Article Forthcoming

In: Critical International Review of Social and Political Philosophy, pp. 1-23, Forthcoming.

Links | BibTeX

Latest News & Media appearances

News from the ESDIT programme + media appearances by our researchers:

ESDiT Research line leader Wijnand IJsselsteijn has been awarded the Distinguished NIAS-Lorentz Fellowship 2024/25

ESDiT Research line leader Wijnand IJsselsteijn has been awarded the Distinguished NIAS-Lorentz Fellowship 2024/25

Recording seminar ‘Just Perceive: How Phenomenology and the Arts Can Guide Us in the Tech Era’ now available

Recording seminar ‘Towards an Ethics of Attention’ now available

The ESDIT podcast

Interviews with, and by, scholars affiliated with the research consortium Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies. The ESDiT podcast showcases ongoing research of various junior and senior scholars active in contemporary technology ethics.

Our Next Event

We regularly organize academic events and events with stakeholders, such as:

Online seminar on ‘The Commodification of Attention. An Analysis and Ethical Assessment’

Apr172023
Time: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Location: Online Seminar
Academic event | Human condition | Public ESDIT event
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Within the ESDiT (Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies) project, the working group on “Attention Economy” organizes an online seminar on “The Commodification of Attention. An analysis and ethical assessment” “Attending as practice in the attention economy”.